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OK, it’s not quite as dramatic as the BMW VED concept, but here’s a slice of green German goodness that’s a heck of a lot closer to production.
This is the B-Class F-Cell, a hydrogen-powered version of Mercedes’ city car set to launch in Europe early next year.
A couple of catches, however: it’ll be produced in very small numbers – Mercedes is predicting an initial run of just a couple of hundred cars – and you won’t actually be able to buy it.
Like the Honda FCX Clarity, the F-Cell will be available for lease by a few select customers.
If you can find somewhere to refill your F-Cell with hydrogen, it should be an efficient thing to run: Mercedes says it will return the equivalent of 87mpg and a range of around 250 miles on the New European Design Cycle (NEDC), and – being a hydrogen fuel-cell car – and emit precisely 0g/km of CO2.
Performance, though, should be comparable to a B-Class powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine: the 134bhp electric motor will hustle the F-Cell to 62mph in just under 11 seconds, with the full 214lb ft of torque available from idle.
But you’ll need to be able to fill the thing up. Mercedes acknowledges that a comprehensive network of hydrogen filling stations is necessary to make fuel cells commercially viable, and says it is working with governments to make this network a reality.
If you've got a few minutes to kill, watch Mr May in the Honda FCX Clarity:
Open Car Bar
What do you think?
Want to comment on this?
Nico94 commented on this article
at 06:58 pm on 01 September 2009
Why you would this car buy?? He is ugly, runs on a fuel which you can buy nowhere and are expensive!!
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TennantsLager commented on this article
at 09:10 pm on 01 September 2009
Performance is bang on the money for what the average motorist needs - all we need is the filling station network. This, and the Clarity, are a little look at the future. Hopefully it is not so far away in the real world.
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PetrolheadViper commented on this article
at 12:24 am on 02 September 2009
Now all we need is infact a decent looking hydrogen powered car more like the Clarity and not like a Mercedes B-Class. and more hydrogen fuel stations to fill your car with.
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Horsepowerrrr commented on this article
at 07:46 am on 02 September 2009
yay for hydrogen! Isn't Blue efficiency/motion/whatever etc. VW's line?
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Lagdo commented on this article
at 07:14 pm on 04 September 2009
if they are more insist on what are they thinking it would be nice. But they accept failure before making the project. Why dont they build more simple hydrojen powered cars and start to have stations in short distance areas than they may expend it to the countries... Also if they study more on making pure hydrogen technology they may find a cheap way to produce it. As the James May said "It would be much more easier than digging in the ocean for oil"
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